There are many conditions or injuries to the hand that can make it difficult, if not impossible, for a person to grip a personal care implement, such as eating utensils, a toothbrush, and hair maintenance implements such as brushes and combs. For example, a user may be impaired by medical conditions such as arthritis, a stroke, or may be impaired due to an injury such as a broken wrist, which requires the user to wear a cast or bone immobilizing apparatus until the bones have healed. Often a cast on the forearm of a user covers the wrist and will typically go around the user's area of the hand between the index finger and thumb, making it difficult to grip items. No matter what the situation is, it can be nearly impossible for a person having one or more of these or similar conditions to grab and hold a personal care implement, which makes it difficult for a person who has an impaired gripping function to effectively take care of themselves, or their surroundings.
Other implements have been suggested in the art having looped handles. Each of the prior art implements has one or more drawbacks. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,373,643 suggests an eating implement for a person having difficulty in gripping conventional eating implements. However, the design taught in this patent lacks proper stability that is provided by a user's thumb. As a result, the eating utensil suggested by this patent can rotate on the user's hand, making it difficult for the user to control the eating utensil during use.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art to provide an implement having improved stability for a person having an impaired movement of the fingers of a hand that makes it difficult for the user grip the implement. The present invention provides an answer to that need.